Pokemon Black: Seeking the Truth
by Annabelle Jones
Summary: Calanthia Black is a new Trainer from Nuvema Town. She starts an adventure with her two best friends, Bianca and Cheren. She's expecting just to go on a journey for fun. But when she meets a certain green haired boy named N, her whole world turns upside down. My interpretation of Pokemon Black. Calanthia is my OC, based off Hilda/White/Touko. Ferriswheelshipping is involved.
1. The Journey Begins!

**So I recently purchased a new copy of Pokemon Black, so I decided to write a story based off it! I can't promise constant updates, because the story is still a work in progress. But I will try my best! I promise!**

**A couple of things...**

**I hate using the official names in fanfictions. It just feels so uncreative. Calanthia is pretty much Hilda/White/Touko. Just saying.**

**Yes, there is ferriswheelshipping involved. No, this is not exclusively a ferriswheelshipping story.**

**Disclaimer for now and all chapters: I don't own Pokemon. Unfortunately.**

**Claimer for now and all chapters: I do own any changes made to the story line and the personalities of the characters.**

**Without further adu, let's begin our adventures in Unova!**

***edit* I added Cheren and Bianca's last names, and Changed Jasmine's name to Calanthia.**

* * *

"Calanthia! Cheren's here to see you!" my mom's voice called from downstairs. Finally! I had been waiting forever!

"I'll be down in a second, Mom!" I shouted. I leapt off of my bed and took one last look in my mirror. I was wearing my favorite outfit, a white tank top with a black vest, and denim blue shorts. Most of my dark brown hair was in a high ponytail. I had black sneakers with pink laces. Although, it felt like something was missing…

I spotted a white cap on my dresser, with a pink pokeball accent. I put it on, tugging my ponytail through the strap. There. Now it was perfect. I ran out of my room, and down the stairs. My friend Cheren Lysov was sitting in the living room, along with my mother.

"Hey, Cheren!" I said, cheerfully. "Thanks for coming on such short notice!"

Cheren smiled when he saw me. "Good morning, Calanthia. So, what's the exciting news you have for me?"

"Professor Juniper sent the package. We're finally going to get our own Pokemon!" I said, not even trying to contain my excitement.

Through Cheren's red glasses, I could see his eyes widen. "Really?" he said.

"Yes!" I replied, my voice higher than usual. "Come upstairs, let me show you!"

Without really giving Cheren a choice, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him into my room. I sat him down by my bed, then ran over to my desk. A blue box was sitting there, tied up with a green ribbon. The box that contained my first Pokemon.

"Check it out!" I said, holding up the box. "Isn't it cool?"

"It's pretty cool," Cheren agreed.

"So do you wanna open it now?" I said.

"Calanthia, shouldn't we wait for Bianca?" Cheren said. "What's keeping her, anyway?"

I sighed. Bianca Morelli was our other friend. And she was always late for stuff.

"Am I a little late again? So-oooo-orry!" As if on cue, Bianca burst into my room, smiling cheerfully.

Cheren sighed, and walked over to Bianca. "Bianca…" he said. "I've known you for about fifteen years now, almost our entire lives. And I know that you have no sense of time. But this is a little bit ridiculous…"

"Cheren!" I said. I set the package on my desk again, and walked over to my friends. "Don't be so serious! Today's supposed to be the most memorable day of our lives! We're finally getting our first Pokemon! And I do not want this day to be ruined by my friend being a grumpy pants!"

Bianca giggled. "You're silly. Cheren's not a grumpy pants! He's just grumpy! It's completely different!"

I laughed, as Cheran groaned. "Can we please just get to the point?" he said. "Like Calanthia said, we're getting our first Pokemon today!"

"Oh, right!" I said. "So, since Bianca's finally here, can we open the box now?"

Cheren nodded. "I don't see a problem with that." Yes! I was so excited! It was finally time to pick my own Pokemon.

"I think Calanthia should pick first!" Bianca suggested.

"I agree," Cheren said. "It is her house, after all."

"Are you guys sure?" I said. I didn't want to take the Pokemon one of them wanted!

Cheren and Bianca nodded. "And hurry up!" Cheren said. "I want to meet the Pokemon right now!"

I nodded, and walked over to the box on my desk. I slowly untied the green ribbon, and opened the box. Inside there were three red Pokeballs. On top of these, there was a note.

I took the note out of the box, and read it out loud. "I've brought three Pokemon, one for you and one for each of your friends. Please settle your choices politely."

"Letting you pick first is polite!" Cheren said. "Now hurry up!"

"All right, all right already!" I said. I turned back to the box and stared at the Pokeballs. Snivy, oshawott, and tepig. One of these Pokemon was going to become my new partner. I didn't know which one to pick.

Oshawott was pretty cool. It was a water type, and learned some pretty cool moves. At least, that's what Cheren told me.

Tepig also seemed to be a good Pokemon. It was a fire type, and was just plain adorable!

Snivy was very elegant. It was a grass type, and it's evolved form was so cool looking!

All of the Pokemon were pretty awesome. But I could only choose one.

"I'll take Snivy," I declared, taking the snivy Pokeball from the box.

"Okay!" Bianca said, running over to me. "Then I'll take oshawott! Cheren, you get Tepig."

Cheren also walked over to us. "Hey, how come you get to pick my Pokemon for me? Oh, it doesn't matter. I wanted tepig from the start, anyway."

"So we finally have our first Pokemon…" I said. "This is so exciting! But… now what?"

"Hey, I know!" Bianca exclaimed, suddenly. "We should have a Pokemon battle!"

I smiled. "Sounds like a great idea to me!"

"Wait," Cheren said. "You two can't be serious. You shouldn't have Pokemon battles inside a house, no matter how strong or weak the Pokemon are."

"Come on, Cheren! Don't be such a worrywart!" Bianca said. "These little ones aren't that strong yet. So we have to let them battle so they get stronger! Besides, how much damage can they really cause?"

Cheren looked like he wanted to protest, but I interrupted him. "Bianca's right. We have to let our Pokemon battle! Besides, you're here to make sure we don't destroy everything in my bedroom."

Cheren sighed. "Fine. Just be careful."

"Yay!" Bianca cheered. "Let's do this, Calanthia! Come on out, Oshawott!"

Bianca threw her red Pokeball, sending out her new Pokemon. A small, blue and white Pokemon emerged from the Pokeball. Oshawott. It was adorable.

I sent out my new snivy. He let out his cry emerged from the Pokeball. Snivy was also pretty cute, but it was more elegant than anything.

"Are you ready, Calanthia?" Bianca asked. I nodded. "Alright, then! Oshawott, show Calanthia what you can do! Use Tackle!"

Bianca's Oshawott nodded, and charged at my Snivy. Oshawott's tackle attack was a direct hit, and Snivy went flying. He landed on my bed.

"Snivy!" I said. "Are you alright?"

Snivy nodded, getting back to his feet. I sighed with relief. "Good. Use Tackle!"

Snivy charged at Oshawott. Another direct hit. Oshawott was knocked onto my desk. "Hey!" Bianca shouted. "I won't let you get away with that! Oshawott, use Tackle again"

Oshawott nodded. "Oh, no you don't!" I said. "Snivy, dodge and use Tackle!"

Snivy leapt out of the way right before Oshawott made contact. Oshawott crashed into my dresser. Snivy turned around and slammed into Oshawott.

"Oshawott!" Bianca shouted. "Please, get up!"

Oshawott struggled to get back to his feet, but it didn't work. Oshawott was down.

"And that's it!" Cheren shouted. "Calanthia is the winner!"

"Great job, Snivy!" I cheered. "Return!" I called Snivy back into it's Pokeball.

"The Pokemon on both sides did their best!" Bianca said, also recalling her Pokemon. "Calanthia, you're gonna be an awesome trainer someday!"

"Thanks," I said, smiling. "You're gonna be great, too, Bianca."

"Hey, guys," Cheren said. "This is all well and good, but I'd suggest taking a look around before you celebrate too much."

And that was when I realized how destroyed my room was. There were pillows all over the floor, and Pokemon footprints all over the place. The rug was folded. The lamp on my desk had shattered. The box the Pokemon came in was smushed. Even my TV wasn't spared. It was tilted at a weird angle. The Pokemon completely trashed my room. Oh well. Still worth it.

"Wow…" Bianca said. "Pokemon are amazing! So little, but so strong! I'm so glad that I get to have a Pokemon."

"Pokemon are truly incredible," I agreed.

Bianca turned to me. "Oh… I'm sorry about your room, Calanthia."

I smiled. "Don't worry about it! I helped destroy it, too!"

Bianca laughed. "I guess that's true!"

Cheren sighed, and walked over to Bianca. "You… are completely hopeless. Let me heal your Pokemon."

Cheren took out a spray bottle and sprayed Oshawott's Pokeball with it. Apparently that healed it.

Cheren turned to me. "Let me heal your Pokemon, too." He repeated the process with my Snivy. "There."

"Hey, Cheren!" Bianca exclaimed. "You should battle, too! With all you know, I'm sure you can battle without turning the room into a disaster area like I did!"

Cheren smiled. "I believe you're right! It'll be no problem for me to keep the room from getting any messier. Besides, it's no fair if you two get to have all the fun battling!"

I grinned. "Then it's settled! Cheren, let's have a Pokemon Battle! And let's try not to destroy anything this time!"

Cheren laughed. "That would be a good idea. Alright, Tepig! It's time to see what you can do!"

Cheren threw his Pokemon, and his Tepig emerged from it. It snorted.

"It's time for round two!" I said. "Let's go, Snivy!"

I also called out my Pokemon. Snivy was ready to go. He looked very determined. "Snivy, use Tackle!" The one attack I knew Snivy had!

Snivy charged at Tepig, and made a direct hit. Luckily, Tepig simply slid across the floor instead of flying across the room.

"Tepig, try your own Tackle attack!" Cheren shouted. The fire Pokemon nodded, and charged at my Snivy. Snivy was nearly shoved into my dresser, but Tepig stopped before that happened.

"Not, bad, Cheren," I said. "At least we haven't had any big disasters yet."

Cheren smiled. "That's what I do! This is so exciting, Calanthia! We've finally become Pokemon Trainers!"

"I know, right? This is great!" I said. "Snivy, use Tackle again."

This caught Cheren slightly off guard. He didn't have time to react as my Snivy crashed into his Tepig. "Tepig!" he cried. "Come on, you can do this!"

I smirked. "Snivy, finish this off! One last tackle attack!"

Snivy cried out and rammed into Tepig again. This time, Tepig actually went flying. Thankfully it didn't destroy anything, though. But Tepig was definitely down. I had won again.

Cheren smiled at me, as he called back his Tepig. "Good job, Calanthia," he said. "It's strange.. even though I lost, I'm still excited beyond words! I'm finally a Pokemon Trainer!"

"It's a pretty good feeling," I agreed.

"So, what do we do now?" Bianca asked. Oh, yeah. We actually had to do something.

"Should we go see Professor Juniper?" I suggested.

"That can wait," Cheren said. "We should probably go apologize to Calanthia's mother first. We made a pretty big mess out of her room, after all."

"Oh, guys, you don't need to do that," I said. "I'm sure my mom will understand."

"No, Cheren's right," Bianca said. "I don't want you getting in trouble for something I did. Come on, Cheren."

Bianca and Cheren walked out of my room. I stayed behind, surveying the damage dealt to the room. Thankfully, nothing seemed to be broken. There was definitely a very large mess, however. That was going to take a while to clean up.

I followed my friends out of my room, and slowly walked down the stairs. I sat down at the bottom of the staircase, watching my friends.

"I'm very sorry about all this trouble, Mrs. Black," Cheren said.

Bianca gulped, stepping closer to my mom. "Well, um… We can clean up…"

Mom laughed. "Cleaning up? No worries. I can take care of it later. Shouldn't you be on your way to go meet Professor Juniper?"

"Yes, thank you!" Cheren said. "Come on, guys! Let's go see Professor Juniper!"

I stepped off of the staircase. "I'll be there in a second. You two go ahead."

Cheren nodded. "We'll wait for you outside of the research lab."

"Actually, I'll meet you guys there, too," Bianca said. "I have to go home first. Thanks for having us over Mrs. Black!"

"Anytime, kids," Mom said, as Cheren and Bianca ran out of my house together.

Mom walked over to me. "My, my, Calanthia," she said. "Pokemon battles are so lively, aren't they? I could hear the Pokemon's cries even from down here!"

"Oh, really?" I said, laughing. "Sorry if we disturbed you!"

Mom smiled. "Not at all. It actually reminded me of the first time I had a Pokemon battle." She sighed. "Those were the days."

"Hey, Mom," I said. "I should probably get going now. The Professor is probably waiting for us."

"Don't forget your cross-transceiver!" Mom said. "You're going to need it!"

She pulled my pink watch-like thing out of her pocket. My XTransceiver. Wow, I almost forgot I had one. It was going to be helpful if I got seperated from my friends. With the XTransceiver, we would be able to communicate anywhere!

"Thanks, Mom," I said.

Mom smiled. "Don't mention it. You should probably go and see the Professor now."

I nodded. "See you later." I started to walk out of the house.

"Oh, Calanthia..." Mom said, her expression suddenly darker. "I almost forgot to tell you. Your father called this morning."

I stopped short. "Really? What did he say?"

"He said that he was proud of you for getting your first Pokemon, but couldn't get away from work to come and see you," she replied.

"Oh..." I said. Then, I forced a smile. "Well, it's all right. I'll see him eventually."

"You know, I actually met your father on my Pokemon journey..." Mom said. "I wonder if the same will happen to you..."

"Mom!" I nearly shouted. "No! Just no! I'm leaving now!"

I ran out of the house without another word, into the cool, Autumn air. I always loved Nuvema town. It was a pretty small town. Not too many people lived there. There were only about a half a dozen houses, and the Research Lab. But Nuvema town was very beautiful. Especially in Autumn. The trees turned spectacular shades of red and yellow, and the leaves were blowing everywhere. The town was also right next to the ocean. It was really relaxing.

I walked behind my house to reach the Research Lab. However, only Cheren was standing in front of it.

"Hey, Cheren!" I said. "Where's Bianca?"

Cheren sighed. "I don't know. Could you maybe check her house? I'll bet she's spacing out like she usually does. You know how flighty she is."

I nodded. "Alright. Be back soon!"

I ran across town, and over to Bianca's house. Like the rest of the houses in this town, it wasn't too large. But it was big enough for a family of three, and a few Pokemon.

"No, no, a thousand times no!"

I heard shouting even before I walked through the door. I peeked inside to see Bianca standing across from her father.

"But Dad!" Bianca protested. "I'm a good Trainer, who got a Pokemon and everything! I can totally go on an adventure!"

Bianca started to walk toward the door. I immediately ran away from the door, so Bianca wouldn't know I was listening. A few seconds later, she walked out of her house. Her usual cheerful demeanor was gone.

"Hi, Bianca," I said, walking over to her. "Is everything alright?" I didn't want her to know I heard the argument.

Bianca looked up at me, and smiled. "Hey, Calanthia! Don't worry, everythings fine! We should hurry to the Research Lab. Cheren's waiting for us."

Before I could say anything else, Bianca grabbed me and dragged me back to the Research Center. I was really walking all over this town today…

"Cheren!" I said. "I brought Bianca!"

Cheren laughed. "Really? It looks like it's the other way around to me!"

I detached Bianca's hand from my arm. "It doesn't matter!" I said. "Let's just go meet the Professor!"

I walked into the Research Lab, followed by Cheren and Bianca. Professor Juniper was in there waiting for us.

I really liked Professor Juniper. Since we lived in such a small town, you kind of know everyone. And the Professor was no exception. She was always really nice to my friends and me. She was pretty much always smiling. She had a very warm smile that always lightened my spirits. And we never really had any reason to dislike her.

Even now, as we walked into her lab, she was smiling her warm smile at us.

"Hi there!" she said. "I've been waiting for you kids! Let me introduce myself again. My name is-"

"Professor Juniper?" Cheren interrupted. "We've known you our entire lives. I think we know your name by now."

"Come, come, Cheren! This is not a time to take things lightly," Professor Juniper said. "Today is a day to remember always, so it's best to behave with some formalities."

"But formalities are boring…" I whispered.

Professor Juniper sighed. "And I see that all formalities are lost on you three. Oh well. By the way, kids, you are allowed to give your Pokemon nicknames. Do you have anything in mind?"

I stared at Snivy's Pokeball. "I think I'll call him Shuman." I declared, after a few seconds of silence.

Professor Juniper smiled. "Excellent. Cheren? Bianca?"

Cheren shook his head. "Tepig is fine the way he is."

"I agree with Cheren!" Bianca said. Wow, my friends were not very creative. I liked nicknames. I felt like you got more attached to your Pokemon that way.

"That's fine, too," Professor Juniper said. "Now, I bet you're all wondering why I've called you here today."

"It's for the Pokedex, isn't it?" Cheren asked. The Pokedex? What was that?

Professor Juniper smiled. "Very good, Cheren! You've already studied Pokemon extensively, haven't you?" Cheren nodded.

I said, "Well, the rest of us haven't. Do you mind explaining?"

Professor Juniper laughed. "Of course. The Pokedex is a high-tech device that automatically records the Pokemon you encounter! So, I want the three of you to visit many places and meet all of the Pokemon in the Unova Region. Will you three do this for me?"

"Sure!" I said, without hesitation. I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my Pokemon yet. Maybe going on a journey would help me find my dream.

"Ok!" Bianca exclaimed. "I mean… Yes, Professor!" Bianca, I thought we weren't being formal!

"Thank you very much," Cheren said. Well, he had always been pretty formal. "Because of you, I can become a Pokemon Trainer. Exactly as I've always wished."

Professor Juniper beamed at us. "Thank you so much!" she said. "I have the Pokedexes right here."

She walked over to her desk, and picked up three rectangular items. She handed one to each of us. Bianca's was white, with a green Pokeball accent. Cheren's was black, with a dark blue Pokeball. And mine was grey, with a pink accent.

"I'd like to show you three around Accumula Town," Professor Juniper said. "Will you meet me there?"

Cheren, Bianca, and I nodded.

Professor Juniper smiled. "Excelent. See you all soon." She walked out of the lab.

"Hey, guys?" Bianca said. "Since the Professor asked us, it's okay to go on a journey, right? I can explore and maybe find out what I want to do in life. I think I'd like that."

"Of course it's alright," Cheren said. "We can travel however we want while we complete the Pokedex. I think I'm going to challenge all of the gym leaders, so I can eventually become the champion. What are you going to do, Calanthia?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I guess I can challenge the gyms, too. I haven't really thought about what I want to do in life yet, so this could be good for me, too."

Sure, I would help with the Pokedex. And sure I would challenge the gyms. But the real reason I was going on this adventure was to find my dream. I didn't know what I wanted to do at that point. So this was a great opportunity for me.

"Fair enough," Cheren said. "We should probably get going. We don't want to keep the Professor waiting for too long."

Bianca and I nodded, and the three of us walked out of the lab together.

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**I hope you guys enjoyed! Review if you did, or if you didn't. It will really help the story!**


	2. Off to Accumula Town!

**And it's time for a new chapter of Pokemon Black! The three friends start their journey by traveling to Accumula town.**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy!**

***Edit* changing Jasmine's name to Calanthia, few minor changes**

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"Mom? What are you doing out here?"

Much to everyone's surprise, my mom was standing outside of the Research Lab. She was smiling widely at us, and her hands were behind her back. If she wasn't my mom, it probably would have creeped me out a little bit. Actually, it did creep me out a little bit.

"I was just wondering what Professor Juniper had to say!" Mom said. "Isn't a mother allowed to be curious?"

"She asked the three of us to complete the Pokedex," Cheren replied.

"Really?" Mom said, smiling. "I can't believe it! Well… actually, I can. I already knew she was going to ask. And that's why I brought you all Town Maps! Take them with you!"

Mom pulled out her hands from behind her back. She was holding three Town Maps, and handed one to each of us. I was actually very grateful to have a map. I never really left Nuvema Town without my parents before, so this was going to be really helpful.

"Thanks a lot, Mom," I said, putting the map away in my bag.

Mom smiled widely. "As for your room, Calanthia- or what's left of it… There's no need for any of you to worry. I'll take care of tidying things up. Ok, Calanthia?"

"I have no complaints," I said.

Mom laughed. "Ah, Pokemon. They are so cute, but they have enough power to destroy a bedroom. They are really something! With Pokemon like that at your side, you'll be safe no matter where you go!"

"Um, Mom," I said, "I don't mean to be rude, but the Professor's probably waiting for us, and…"

"I understand," Mom said. "Cheren, Bianca, I'll go explain everything to your parents. You three should hurry to Accumula Town."

"Bye, Mom," I said.

Mom smiled one last time. "See you later, Calanthia. Have a nice trip!"

Mom walked away before we could say anything else to her.

Bianca said, "Calanthia, your mom is pretty cool. I can't believe she offered to clean up your room for you…"

"Honestly, neither can I," I admitted. "But hey, I'm not complaining."

"So how do we get to Accumula Town, anyway?" Bianca asked.

Cheren scanned his Town Map. "It's just past Route One. Come on. We don't want to keep the Professor waiting."

Cheren led Bianca and I to the town gate. We stopped when we were standing under it. My heart started to race. It was really happening. I was really going on a Pokemon adventure. I was going to find my dream.

"Hey, guys," Bianca said. "I've been thinking. Since we're starting a journey together, maybe we should all take our first steps at the same time?"

"Naturally," Cheren said. He grabbed both mine and Bianca's hands, effectively putting himself in the middle of the group. "Together."

"Okay," I said, since I obviously was not going to get a choice in the matter. "One… two… three… go!"

We all walked onto Route one together, in a perfectly straight line.

"Oh! I wonder what will happen!" Bianca said. "Isn't this so exciting?"

Cheren nodded. "It sure is. Going on a journey should be really fun."

I still couldn't believe this was happening. I was really going on an adventure! I was finally a Pokemon Trainer!

"So is Route one just a straight path?" I asked.

"Pretty much," Cheren said. "We should be there soon."

I stopped, dropping hands. "I have an idea. Wanna race to Accumula Town? It could help pass the time!"

Bianca smiled. "Sure! Sounds like fun! Cheren?"

Cheren sighed. "Fine."

I smirked. "Great! See you guys in Accumula Town!"

Without giving my friends any time to react, I started to run toward the next town, laughing. I heard my friends shout after me, but I ignored them. Route one was really nice! There were Pokemon all over the place, and there were trees everywhere. I loved it.

I reached Accumula Town in no time. I stood by the town gate, waiting for my friends. Bianca was the next to get there. She was laughing.

"No fair!" she said. "You got a headstart!"

I shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe you just weren't paying attention and started late."

Bianca giggled. "Maybe!"

"Okay, Calanthia, you've had your fun," Cheren said, walking up to us. What, he didn't even try running? Lame. "Can we please just go meet the Professor now?"

Before I could reply, my XTransceiver started ringing. I pushed the button on it, answering the call.

"Hey there, Calanthia!" It was Professor Juniper. "How is everyone doing?"

"We're fine!" I said.

Bianca peeked over my shoulder. "Oh! Hi, Professor!"

That caught Cheren's attention. He also walked over to us, and somehow managed to get in view of the camera.

"Hello, Professor," he said. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm waiting in front of Accumula Town's Pokemon Center," Professor Juniper said. "I'd like to show you around, so hurry on over, everyone!"

"Okay!" I said, cheerfully. "We'll see you soon, Professor!" I pushed the button again, hanging up the call.

I turned to Cheren. "Yes, Cheren, we can go meet the Professor now. You happy?"

"I would've been happier if you said that five minutes ago," Cheren replied, making Bianca snicker. "But I think I'm actually going to sit this one out. I already know about the Pokemon Center. See you guys later."

Cheren ran into Accumula Town.

Bianca turned to me, cheerfully. "Calanthia, let's go visit the Pokemon Center!"

I nodded, smiling. "Right!" We followed Cheren into Accumula Town.

Accumula Town was much bigger than Nuvema Town. There were a lot more buildings. The town also had less trees than Nuvema Town, and more sidewalks and roads. It was also very hilly. Pretty much the entire town consisted of hills.

Professor Juniper was standing in front of a building with a red roof. I assumed this was the Pokemon Center. Bianca and I ran over to her.

"Hi, Professor!" Bianca said. "Sorry we took so long to get here."

Professor Juniper smiled. "It's no problem at all. Please follow me. I'd like to show you the most important place for a Trainer to know!"

The Professor walked into the Pokemon Center. Bianca and I followed her.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center, girls!" Professor Juniper said. The Pokemon Center had a very welcoming atmosphere. There were people sitting in a cafe section of the building, just chatting over coffee. There was a little shop in the corner that looked very inviting. In the back of the floor, there was a woman standing behind a counter, with light pink hair. She had a friendly smile on her face. Next to the counter there was a computer like thing. There was also a staircase that led to another section of the Pokemon Center. I honestly didn't know what was upstairs.

"Wow…" Bianca said. "This place is amazing!"

"Isn't it nice?" Professor Juniper said. "I always feel better as soon as I step through the door! Let's get started with our tour."

Professor Juniper led us over to the counter. I ended up standing in the middle, right in front of the woman with pink hair.

"A Pokemon Center is truly a wonderful place," Professor Juniper said. "Do you know why? Because your Pokemon can be healed! And, what's more, it's absolutely free! A Pokemon Center is a Trainer's best friend! Calanthia, give it a try. You just need to talk to Nurse Joy."

Nurse Joy… I assumed this was the woman behind the counter. I turned to her.

"Um… hi," I said. "So, you can heal my snivy?"

Nurse Joy nodded. "Of course! Just give me his Pokeball!"

"Okay," I said. I pulled Shuman's Pokeball out from my bag, and handed it to Nurse Joy. She took it over to a machine, and placed it into one of the holes. She then pushed a giant button, and the machine made a beeping noise.

She took Shuman's Pokeball out of the machine and handed it back to me. "Thanks for waiting. We've restored your Pokemon to full health," she said. I slipped the Pokeball back into my bag. Nurse Joy bowed. "We hope you excel!"

I turned to Professor Juniper. "So now what?" I said.

"Now that your Pokemon has rested, I'll show you how to use the PC at a Pokemon Center," Professor Juniper replied.

She led Bianca and I over to the computer thing. "This is the PC," Professor Juniper said. "It's free for any Trainer to use. The Pokemon you put in the PC will be sent to my lab, so I can watch over them for you." You could capture more Pokemon? And Professor Juniper could watch over them? That was pretty cool…

"That's so cool!" Bianca said. "But Professor… who's Someone? It says Someone's PC on the screen."

I looked at the computer. There was a list on the screen. Someone's PC, Professor Juniper's PC, and My PC. Just… someone. That was weird…

"Very good observation, Bianca!" Professor Juniper said. "Someone is the person who made the Pokemon Storage System."

Before Bianca and I could question this more, Professor Juniper ushered us over to the little shop.

"This is the Poke Mart," she explained. "Trainers can purchase useful items here, including Pokeballs and Potions. You can also sell items you don't need anymore." I wondered what other stuff they had to sell at a Poke Mart… I made a mental reminder to check it out later.

"Is there anything else you need to show us, Professor?" I asked. I was anxious to meet up with Cheren again.

"If you're in a hurry, I can just explain the rest," Professor Juniper said. "In the other corner is the cafe, which is a good place to unwind after a battle. And on the upper floor there are rooms for Pokemon Trainers to stay in if they are far away from home." That was really helpful. I was just glad we didn't have to camp out every night.

"And that about sums it up!" Professor Juniper said. "I'm going to head back to Nuvema town. Give me a call if you need anything."

With that, Professor Juniper walked out of the Pokemon Center. I turned to Bianca.

"Do you wanna go find Cheren now?" I asked.

Bianca shook her head. "You go on ahead. I wanna check out the Pokemon Center a little bit more first."

I nodded, and walked out of the Pokemon Center.

"Calanthia! Come over here for a second!"

Cheren ran up to me pretty much the second I was outside again.

"Cheren?" I said. "What's going on?"

"I think this guy is going to make a speech," Cheren said. "Could be pretty interesting. I think we should check it out."

Without even giving me a choice in the matter, Cheren grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the center of town. A large crowd had gathered there. He pulled me to the front, where I was able to see a long line of people wearing white tunic things. The tunics had the letter "P" on them, in fancy blue writing. They looked very odd.

The tunic person in the middle of the line stepped forward and to the left, creating a gap in the line. A man walked through this gap. He looked even weirder than the tunic people. He had long, green hair and wore a colorful cape thing. When he reached the front of the group, the guy who stepped out of place went back into formation.

"Hello, people," the green haired man said. "My name is Ghetsis. I am here representing Team Plasma."

"Cheren, what's Team Plasma?" I whispered. Cheren shrugged.

Ghetsis continued, "Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokemon Liberation."

There were confused murmurs from the crowd. I was glad I wasn't the only one who didn't know what Pokemon Liberation was.

"I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokemon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other." Ghetsis's eyes scanned the crowd. I might have been imagining it, but I think they stopped on me. "However… is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans… only assume this is the truth?" Ghetsis said.

What? No… that couldn't be true!

"Pokemon are subject to the selfish commands of a Trainer," Ghetsis said. Selfish? "They get pushed around when they are our 'partners' at work. Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I am saying?"

Again, there were murmurs in the crowd. Was Ghetsis telling the truth? Did Pokemon really think we mistreated them? That couldn't be right… I would never hurt my snivy! He's my partner!

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokemon are different from people," Ghetsis said. "They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living being from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called Pokemon?" I didn't know anymore…

"We must liberate the Pokemon!" Ghetsis announced, confidently. "Then, and only then, will humans and Pokemon truly be equals." But what did liberation even mean? "Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokemon… and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention."

The tunic men surrounded Ghetsis, and escorted him away. The crowd dispersed, chatting about what Ghetsis had said. Soon, Cheren and I were the only people left in the square.

"What was that Ghetsis guy talking about?" I said. "Is it even possible to liberate Pokemon?"

"I don't know," Cheren admitted. "It sounds a little bit out there to me…"

"Your Pokemon… Just now, it was saying…" a male voice said, quickly. I turned to see a boy with long, light green hair. The boy was pretty tall, much taller than I was, but he couldn't have been too much older than Cheren and I. Maybe about seventeen or eighteen.

He was also awkwardly close to me. I stepped back a few inches.

I stared at the boy, slightly freaked out. "My Pokemon are talking?"

The boy sighed. "I suppose you cannot hear them, either. How sad."

"Slow down," Cheren said. "You talk way too fast. Who are you, anyway?"

The boy laughed. It sounded almost musical. "I'm sorry. I guess I haven't introduced myself yet. How rude of me. My name is N Harmonia."

I stared at N. Cheren elbowed me. "Oh! Um, I'm Calanthia Black, and this is my friend Cheren Lysov."

"Professor Juniper asked us to complete the Pokedex, and we just left on our journey," Cheren said.

I groaned. "Cheren, are you going to bring that up every time we start a conversation with someone? It's already getting old." Cheren laughed feebly.

N frowned slightly. "The Pokedex, eh? So… you're going to confine many, many Pokemon in Pokeballs for that."

"What's wrong with Pokeballs?" I asked.

"It's just that… are Pokemon really happy confined in their Pokeballs?" N said. "I'm a Trainer as well, but I can't help wondering…"

Cheren and I stood there awkwardly. What was up with this boy?

Suddenly, N smiled at me. He had an annoyingly adorable smile.

"Well, Calanthia, was it?" he said. I nodded. "I would like to hear your Pokemon's voice again. Would you be willing to battle me?"

"Um, sure, I guess," I said. "Cheren, do you mind being the referee?"

Cheren shook his head. "Not at all."

N's smile widened. "Excellent."

N, Cheren, and I walked over to the town square, where there was enough free space for a Pokemon battle. I pulled out Shuman's Pokeball.

"Are you ready, N?" I called.

"Yes," N replied. Even from the other side of the square, I could see N smile. "I'm looking forward to hearing your Pokemon's voices."

That was kind of a weird thing to say, but I didn't care. There was something about N that just made me smile.

"Alright!" Cheren shouted. "The Pokemon battle between N and Calanthia will now begin!"

"Great!" I said. "Go, Shuman!"

My Snivy came flying out of it's Pokeball, and stood in the middle of the square.

N stared at Shuman. "Amazing… I have never heard Pokemon say such things…" he said. "Purrloin, come on out!"

N also threw a Pokeball. A small, purple Pokemon emerged from it, and landed on all fours. A purrloin! It was absolutely adorable!

"Aw!" I said. "Your purrloin is so adorable, N!"

N smiled. "I'm glad you think so. I've had my purrloin for a very long time."

"Hey, guys!" Cheren shouted. "Are you ready yet? We don't have all day!"

"Oh, right!" I said. "Shuman, use Tackle!"

Shuman charged at N's purrloin. The purrloin didn't even try to dodge. Shuman shoved him back a few inches.

"Not bad," N said. "Purrloin, use scratch!"

Shuman didn't even have time to try and dodge the attack. Purrloin was too fast. It scratched Shumans head, and he was shoved backward.

"Shuman!" I shouted. "Are you alright?"

Shuman nodded, glaring at Purrloin. I sighed. "That's a relief."

N was staring at me. "Amazing…" he said.

I looked up at N, smiling. "What?"

N shook his head. "It's nothing. Please continue. Let me hear the voice of your Pokemon!"

I smiled. "Well, you're asking for it! Shuman, use tackle again!"

Shuman nodded, and charged at Purrloin. His tackle was a direct hit, and Purrloin slid across the ground, ending up next to N.

"Purrloin, try your scratch attack again!" N shouted.

Purrloin leapt to his feet, and charged at Shuman. "Dodge it, quickly!" I said.

Shuman leapt out of the way as Purrloin tried to scratch him.

I smiled. "Perfect! I said. "Finish it off with a tackle attack!"

Shuman let out it's cry, and charged at Purrloin. It didn't even stand a chance against my Snivy. Purrloin was down.

"Purrloin is unable to battle!" Cheren shouted. "Calanthia is the winner!"

"Yes!" I said. "Good job, Shuman!" Shuman turned to me, and cried out, cheerfully. "You deserve a good rest! Return!"

I called Shuman back into his Pokeball.

N did the same to his Purrloin, smiling sadly. "You put up a good fight. I'm proud of you."

N walked over to me. "I never expected to hear Pokemon say such things…" he said. "You're truly amazing."

I smiled. "Thank you. Your Purrloin was pretty good, as well."

"He is pretty talented," N agreed. "I just hate keeping him confined in the Pokeball, though. I feel that as long as Pokemon are confined in Pokeballs, they can never be perfect beings."

"I disagree," I said. "I think Trainers help Pokemon achieve their full potential. That we work together to achieve our dreams."

N stared at me. "Perhaps. However, Pokemon are my friends. And I want them to be happy. That is why I feel I must change the world, to help the Pokemon."

N started to leave, but then he paused. "I enjoyed our battle, Calanthia. I'm looking forward to meeting you again."

Without another word, N walked out of the town. I stared at him until he was out of eyesight.

"Huh. Strange guy," Cheren said, walking up behind me.

"I wouldn't really say strange," I said. "I find him very… intriguing. I hope that won't be the last time I see him." I wanted to know more about him. There was just something about him that really interested me.

"Calanthia, are you feeling alright?" Cheren asked. "You look really out of it."

"I'm fine," I said, staring off into space. "Just thinking about stuff."

"Right," Cheren said. "Hey, do you mind if I go on ahead? I want to challenge the Striaton Gym Leader."

"Go ahead," I said. "I'll catch up with you. Thanks for refereeing my battle with N."

"No problem," Cheren said. "See you later, Calanthia!"

With that, Cheren ran out of the square, leaving me alone.

* * *

**And I promise we are almost out of tutorial mode. I think I only have one more to go through, and I promise I will try to make it more exciting.**

**Please Review! It will really help!**


	3. Off to Striaton City!

**And we are finally back with another update! Sorry this took so long to write. Life got in the way**

**read, review, and enjoy!**

***Edit* Changing Jasmine's name to Calanthia, and maybe a few other minor changes.**

* * *

"Calanthia? Why are you just standing there? And where's Cheren?"

I was jolted back to reality when Bianca walked over to me. "Oh, hi, Bianca. I was just thinking about stuff."

Bianca looked at me, quizzically. "What kind of stuff?" Oh, right. She was in the Pokemon Center the entire time. I really did not want to explain the events of the past hour to her.

"Just stuff," I replied. "It's not that important. And to answer your question, Cheren was being a total meanie pants and decided to go ahead of us. He's probably at Straiton City by now. He's going to challenge the Gym Leader there."

"Oh…" Bianca sounded disappointed for a second, but then her smile returned. "Hey, Calanthia! Will you have a Pokemon Battle with me? Oshawott has grown stronger, and I want to show you."

I smiled. "Sure! Can I heal Shuman first, though? We just had a pretty tough battle."

Bianca nodded. "Of course. Who did you battle?"

"No one you would know," I replied quickly, before running into the Pokemon Center. I really did not want to tell Bianca about N yet. He was hard to explain if you didn't know him.

After Nurse Joy healed my Pokemon, I ran back out to meet Bianca.

"Okay, Shuman and I are ready!" I said. "Let's do this!"

Bianca smiled. "Yay! Come on out, Oshawott!"

Bianca clumsily pulled her Pokeball from her bag, and sent out Oshawott. He cried out, ready for battle.

"Go, Shuman!" I exclaimed, also sending out my Pokemon. Shuman was equally as determined.

"Oshawott! Start this off with a Water Gun attack!" Bianca exclaimed.

Water Gun, huh? That was a new one.

Oshawott blew a stream of water, and it drenched Shuman. It didn't really seem to do much damage, though.

"That was pretty cool, Bianca," I said. "When did Oshawott learn Water Gun?"

Bianca smiled. "You aren't the only one who's been battling recently! After visiting the Pokemon Center, Oshawott and I trained on Route One for a while."

"Cool," I replied. "Shuman, use Tackle!"

Shuman rammed into Oshawott, sending it flying back a few feet.

"Not bad," Bianca said. "But both my Pokemon and I are going to give it our all! Oshawott, try your own tackle attack!"

Oshawott started to charge at Shuman, and I kinda panicked a little bit.

"Shuman! Dodge and… do something," I stuttered. Shuman glanced at me for a second, confused by the order, but still managed to jump out of the way in time. However, instead of Tackling Oshawott like I expected him to, Shuman produced two vines and whacked Oshawott with them. It didn't look like it would hurt a human that much, but it definitely seemed to hurt Oshawott.

"Shuman? What was that?" I asked, not really expecting an answer. Instead, I pulled out my Pokedex. It read, **'Congratulations! Your Shuman has learned Vine Whip!' **

"That was awesome, Calanthia!" Bianca said, cheerfully. "But this could mean trouble for Oshawott and me…"

I smirked. "Shuman, let's wrap this up! Use Vine Whip one more time!"

Shuman nodded, and used Vine Whip again. Oshawott didn't even stand a chance. It was down.

Bianca pouted as she recalled her Pokemon. "Aww… I couldn't win…"

"Hey, don't feel bad, Bianca," I said, also recalling my Pokemon. "Shuman is a pretty tough cookie. And I was not expecting that Vine Whip attack!"

"I think you're the one who's a tough cookie, Calanthia. Not just your snivy," Bianca replied. "But… thanks for trying to cheer me up. I'm gonna work hard on training my Pokemon so we won't lose anymore!"

"Same here!" I said. "Let's both work hard to follow our dreams!"

"The only thing I want to follow right now is Cheren," Bianca said. "You said he went to Striaton City, right?"

"Yup!" I replied. "We should probably go and find him. We don't want to get too far apart on our journeys."

Bianca nodded. "Let's get going. After the Pokemon Center, of course."

Before I could even say anything, Bianca dragged me into the Pokemon Center. Luckily, Nurse Joy was able to heal both of our Pokemon at the same time, so we were out of there in no time.

"So, Calanthia," Bianca said, as we started our journey across Route Two. "Who was that boy you and Cheren were with earlier?"

"What?" I said, blushing. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on," Bianca said. "I saw you battle him! He seemed pretty nice."

"He is. I like him," I said. "I don't think Cheren's too fond of him, though. He was very interesting."

"What was his name?" Bianca asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I said. "Honestly, I don't even believe this is his real name."

"Please tell me!" Bianca said. "Please please please please please please ple-"

"All right!" I shouted. "I think he said his name was N, or something like that."

"N, huh?" Bianca said. "That is a pretty strange name." It kind of was. But I didn't really want to question it.

We walked for a few moments in silence, until Bianca said, "Is he your friend?"

"I honestly don't know," I replied. "I want him to be, though. He seems to be really nice. And he's very interesting."

Suddenly, Bianca grinned. "Yes! I'm so happy for you, Calanthia!" Wait, what?

"Um, why?" I asked.

Bianca stopped me just outside of the Striaton City gate. "Because you've finally gotten your first crush!"

I blushed. "What? No. I barely know anything about N. I don't even know his full name. I do not like him like that."

Bianca giggled. "I can't wait to meet this N! He must be really special if you like him!"

"Bianca!" I exclaimed. "Stop it! I don't have a crush on N!"

"You totally do!" Bianca said. "I can't wait to tell Cheren!" Oh great. "See you later, Calanthia!"

"Bianca, wait!" I shouted, as Bianca ran into Striaton City. "Come back here!"

I followed Bianca into Striaton City, but she was nowhere in sight. Great. Now I had to find Cheren before Bianca did. Or find Bianca before she finds Cheren. Either one would work at this point.

I ran into the first building I saw. It was on the left of the Pokemon Center. There were many desks in the building. It looked like some sort of school. In the back of the building, there was a large blackboard. Thankfully, Cheren was standing in front of this blackboard. I ran over to him.

"Cheren!" I exclaimed. "Thank goodness I found you! Has Bianca been in here yet?"

"It's nice to see you too, Calanthia," Cheren said. "And no, I haven't seen her."

I sighed. "Good." That was one less thing I had to worry about.

"So what's the big hurry, anyway?" Cheren asked. "Why are you looking for Bianca?"

"It's not that big of a deal," I said. "Don't worry about it."

Cheren studied me for a second, then sighed. "Fine. Anyway, did you hear about the Gym Leaders?"

I blinked. "What?"

Cheren laughed. "I'll take that as a no, then. Apparently the gym leaders are out on official business. So we won't be able to battle them until tomorrow." Well that was kind of annoying.

"Wait, gym leaders?" I repeated. "I thought there was only one!"

Cheren stared at me. "Oh, you don't know? In Striaton City, there are three gym leaders. The one you battle depends on the starter Pokemon you chose. In your case, since you chose Snivy, you'll have to battle the Fire type gym leader, Chili."

"What?" I moaned. "But Shuman can't go up against fire types! It's too dangerous!"

Cheren sighed. "Figures you'd be unprepared. But you're in luck. A girl in the Dreamyard gave me three Pokemon, panpour, pansage, and pansear. I'm planning on giving the Pansear to Bianca, but you can have the Panpour if you want it."

"Really?" I said, smiling. Cheren nodded. "Oh, thank you so much!"

"No problem," Cheren said. He pulled a Pokeball out of his pocket and handed it to me. "The panpour is a girl, by the way."

"A girl, huh?" I said. "I think I'll call her… Pavati."

"Nice name," Cheren said.

"Cheren, I can't thank you enough for this," I said. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Cheren pondered this for a second. "How about this. Let's have a battle, and then we'll call it even."

"A battle?" I repeated. "That's it?"

Cheren nodded. "Since the gym leaders aren't around, I've been taking the time to do some research on Pokemon Battles. And I want to test my knowledge. So please battle me."

"Sure!" I said. "But we have to be careful. You know how dangerous battling indoors can be."

"Of course," Cheren said. "I'm not Bianca." And I was really grateful for that. I loved Bianca, but sometimes…

"Let's get started!" I said. "Does a two on two battle sound alright to you? I don't have three Pokemon yet."

Cheren nodded. "That should be fine."

"Great!" I said. "Pavati, it's time to see what you can do! Come on out!"

I threw Pavati's Pokeball. The little blue Pokemon emerged from the red light. I pulled out my Pokedex. According to the screen, Pavati knew Scratch, Leer, Lick, and Water Gun. Leer and Lick weren't going to be too helpful, but Water Gun and Scratch certainly were.

"All right, Purrloin! Go!" Cheren also threw his Pokeball. A small, purple purrloin emerged from it. I gasped.

"Cheren, where did you get a purrloin?" I asked.

"Back on Route Two," Cheren replied. "Why?"

"I want one," I declared. "They're so cute, yet still so powerful."

Cheren smirked. "You want a purrloin, huh? This doesn't have to do with your battle with N earlier, does it? He had a purrloin, too."

"It's not about that!" I shouted. "I just like purrloins, okay?"

Cheren laughed. "Fine. I can help you capture one. After our battle, of course."

I nodded. "Pavati, use your Scratch attack!"

Pavati nodded, and charged at Purrloin. It scratched him right across the face. A direct hit.

"Not bad," Cheren said. "Purrloin, try your own Scratch attack!"

Purrloin nodded, and charged at Pavati. She easily dodged it.

"Great job, Pavati!" I said. "Use your Water Gun attack!"

Pavati shot a jet of water toward Purrloin. The force of it shoved Purrloin back, and dealt a good amount of damage.

"Purrloin! Use Assist!" Cheren shouted.

Assist? What was that?

A white orb appeared on Purrloins paw. Out of it shot a burst of flames. It didn't do much damage to Pavati, but it was still really weird.

"Cheren, what was that?" I asked.

"That was Purrloin's Assist attack," Cheren explained. "The user chooses a random move from another Pokemon in my party. In this case, Purrloin chose Tepig's Ember attack."

"That's so cool!" I said. "I definitely want a Purrloin now!"

"There are so many different kinds of Pokemon moves," Cheren said. "Moves that never miss and moves that can attack first…"

"Cheren, can we just get on with our battle?" I said.

Cheren laughed feebly. "Right. Sorry. Purrloin, use scratch!"

Purrloin charged at Pavati, but she easily stepped out of the way again.

"Use Water Gun!" I shouted.

Pavati unleashed another jet of water. Purrloin slammed against the wall, nearly dislodging the blackboard. It tried to get up, but to no avail. Purrloin was down.

"Purrloin, return!" Cheren called. "Come on out, Tepig!"

He threw another Pokeball. Tepig emerged from it.

I looked at Cheren, confused. "Why Tepig? Pavati can take him down with, like, one hit."

Cheren shrugged. "Since we're only doing a two on two battle, I figured I should use my partner."

"I guess that makes sense," I said. "Anyway, Pavati, use Water Gun again!"

Pavati nodded, although it seemed to sick of using Water Gun over and over again. Tepig didn't even stand a chance against the Water Gun attack. The battle was over.

"Tepig, return," Cheren said. "Good job, Calanthia. Losing to you means I still have a lot to learn."

"I think both of us have a lot to learn," I said, recalling Pavati. "But hey, that's what we're going on a journey for, right?"

Cheren nodded. "Right. There's so much we don't know about the world yet. Pokemon should help us discover these things."

I rolled my eyes. "Cheren, you're being boring again. Can you just teach me how to catch a Purrloin now?"

Cheren sighed. "And I should've known that lecturing you wouldn't help. But sure, let's go back to Route Two."

I smiled. Yes! I was going to get my own purrloin! This was so exciting!

I ran out of the building, then waited for Cheren outside. He was being boring again and refused to run indoors. We ran back onto Route Two, and stopped about halfway through.

"Okay, so now what?" I asked, looking around for a Purrloin.

"Pokemon can be found in the Tall Grass," Cheren explained. "So if you want to find a Pokemon, I'd suggest walking through the Tall Grass instead of on the main path."

I stood there for a second, processing what Cheren told me. Pokemon were found in the tall grass? How did that make any sense? But I wasn't going to doubt my friend, so I said, "And what do you do if a Pokemon jumps out at you?"

"You have to weaken a Pokemon before capturing it," Cheren explained. "So you send out one of your Pokemon to battle it."

"But how do you capture it?" I asked.

"You throw a Pokeball at it," Cheren replied. I stared at him blankly. He sighed. "And I'm guessing you don't have any extra Pokeballs. Take some of mine. But for future reference, you can buy these in a Pokemon Center."

Cheren pulled a handful empty Pokeballs out of his bag and handed them to me. "Thanks, Cheren," I said, putting the five Pokeballs into my bag.

"No problem," Cheren replied. "Now, it's getting late. We should find a Purrloin before it gets too dark."

I nodded, and walked into the Tall Grass. Cheren stood a few feet away, watching me. I started to look around for a purrloin, with Shuman's Pokeball in my hand. I had to be prepared. For once.

A few moments later, a Pokemon cried out. A purple blur jumped out of the Tall Grass. And I was not prepared at all. I took a few steps back, startled.

"Calanthia!" Cheren shouted. "You have to battle it now, remember?"

"Oh, right!" I said. "Shuman, come on out!"

Shuman emerged from his Pokeball.

"Now what, Cheren?" I asked, turning to him.

"Have your Snivy use an attack to weaken purrloin," he replied. "Then throw the Pokeball at it."

"Got it!" I said. "Shuman, use Vine Whip!"

Shuman attacked the wild Purrloin with a Vine Whip attack. It fell backward, and slid across the ground.

"Now!" Cheren shouted. "Throw the Pokeball while it's down!"

I nodded, and pulled an empty Pokeball out from my bag. "All right! Go, Pokeball!"

I threw a Pokeball at the Purrloin. The white button hit its head. A red light engulfed the purrloin. The Pokeball wiggled three times before beeping. I stood there for a second. Did it actually work?

"Calanthia, you have to pick up the Pokeball," Cheren said. "It's not going to magically come back to you."

"Wait, it actually worked?" I said. Cheren nodded. I ran over to the Pokeball and picked it up, laughing.

"Yes! I caught a purrloin!" I cheered. "Thank you so much for the help, Cheren!"

Cheren smiled. "No problem. What are you going to name it?"

Name? Oops, I totally didn't think about that. I pulled out my Pokedex to check what gender my purrloin was.

According to the Pokedex, purrloin was female. It knew assist, scratch, growl, and sand attack.

"I think I'll call her Leila," I declared.

Cheren shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Let's go back to Striaton City now. We don't want Bianca to worry."

I nodded, and Cheren and I walked back towards the city together.

* * *

**So what did you think? Please leave a review! It will really help!**


	4. The Striaton Gym Leaders!

**OMG I'm not dead! I'm sorry for not updating in, like, forever. I got kinda lazy over the summer and then school started and I'm in Marching Band, so... yeah. I had like, no free time. **

**But anyway, I have a few important updates on this story! **

**1\. Most of it is already written. I have about twenty nine chapters written (not finalized, but written). The only problem is, pretty much all of them are missing some pokemon battles. So that's kinda important. I'm going to write those soon, and I'll update as I do.**

**2\. I gave Cheren and Bianca last names, which I'm going to be adding to the earlier chapters. They were just kinda important in later scenes, so I added them.**

**3\. I'm changing the main character's name! THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE ALL OF YOU WILL BE CONFUSED IF YOU DON'T READ IT. Jasmine's name is going to be Calanthia. Don't even ask how that one happened. It just did.**

**I'm going to update the earlier chapters after I post this one. So don't freak out, please. I have to reupload all of the chapters cause I haven't been on for such a long time, so that might take a while.**

**Anyway, without further adu, here's the next chapter, where Calanthia takes on the Striaton Gym Leader! **

* * *

The trip back to Striaton City wasn't very eventful. We ran into Bianca on the way to the Pokemon Center, but other than that, it was pretty boring. I was just thankful she was so mad at us for ditching her she forgot to mention the thing about that boy…

The next morning, it was finally time for my first Gym Battle. I couldn't believe it was actually happening. I was really a Pokemon Trainer. I was actually going to take the Gym Challenge. And not only that, I was taking it with my best friend.

Cheren and Bianca were waiting for me in the lobby of the Pokemon Center.

"Good morning, guys," I said, as I ran downstairs. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Cheren smiled. "It's no problem. You ready for your first Gym Battle?"

I nodded cheerfully. "How about you?"

Cheren nodded, but before he could say anything, Bianca jumped in. "Then let's get going! I wanna watch you guys's first Gym Battles! Come on come on come on!"

I sighed. And Bianca was still as impatient as ever.

Cheren just shook his head. "Whatever you say, Bianca. It's not like we need breakfast or anything before the Gym Battle."

Bianca smiled. "I'm glad you're seeing it my way! Now come on!"

Bianca literally shoved Cheren and I out of the Pokemon Center.

"Bianca, stop it!" Cheren exclaimed. "Do you even know where the Striaton Gym is?"

Bianca stopped short, causing both Cheren and I to fall to the ground. "Oops," she said. "Cheren, where's the gym again?"

I wanted to comment on how stupid it was for Bianca to just charge forward without knowing where the gym was, but then I realized I was about to do the same thing, so I kept my mouth shut.

Cheren was shaking his head as he got back to his feet. "Bianca, you're hopeless." I also got back up. "Girls, follow me," Cheren said. He lead us through Striaton City, until we stopped in front of what looked like a giant restaurant.

"Um, Cheren?" I said. "Why did we stop? Where's the gym?"

"What do you mean where's the gym?" Cheren said. "We're standing right in front of it."

Bianca and I looked at the restaurant. It didn't really look like anything special. Bianca said, "Cheren, do you need to get your glasses checked? That's not a gym, it's a restaurant."

Cheren sighed. "Like I said, hopeless." Cheren shoved Bianca and I into the restaurant. It was actually a lot smaller than it looked. While it did seem to be a pretty high class restaurant, there weren't that many tables. And all of the tables were filled, anyway. What were we even doing here?

Cheren walked up to the front desk. Bianca and I walked after him, still confused. Cheren said, "Excuse me, miss?" The hostess at the desk looked up. "My name is Cheren. And I'm here for a Gym Battle."

The hostess smiled. "Of course! Right this way, sir." She got up from her seat, and walked to the back of the restaurant, where there was a giant curtain for some reason.

"I'm assuming these two are here to watch your battle?" the hostess said.

"Um, actually I'd like a battle as well," I said. "My name is Calanthia."

"I'm afraid it's not possible for two people to challenge the gym at the same time," the hostess said. "One of you will have to come back later."

"Could you make an exception?" Cheren said. "Calanthia and I are on our journeys together, and I think it's only natural for us to get our first badges together. Besides, we chose different starter Pokemon, so there shouldn't be a problem."

"Please make an exception!" I chimed in. "It wouldn't feel right doing this without Cheren. This has been his dream forever, and I want to help make it come true!" Cheren smiled at me, and I returned the smile.

The hostess hesitated for a second. "I suppose I can let you both in. But I can't guarantee they'll let both of you battle." She pulled on a long, yellow rope that was hanging from the ceiling. The curtain in the back of the room opened.

I gasped.

Behind the curtain, it looked like an entirely new building. The design was similar, but it definitely was not a restaurant. Instead of tables, there were weird panely things on the ground. Each of them had a different symbol on them, representing water, fire, and grass. Where the hostess's counter should've been, there was a guy standing next to two oddly shaped statues. The rest of the area was cut off by another curtain, but judging from this experience, I assumed there was a way to get past it.

"Wow…" I breathed. "Cheren, what is this place?"

"Welcome to the Straiton City Gym, Calanthia," Cheren said. "Are you ready for your first ever Gym Battle?"

"This is all a lot fancier than I thought it would be…" I murmured. "Are all of the Gyms like this?"

Cheren shook his head. "The Gym Leaders get to design their own gyms."

"He's right," the hostess said. Oh right. She was still there. "The Gym Leaders base the designs of their Gyms on their personalities and what types they specialize in. So the challengers get a different experience in every gym!"

"That's so cool!" Bianca exclaimed. "I wonder how a Gym I designed would turn out!"

Cheren and I exchanged glances. "Very colourful," I said.

"And completely unorganized," Cheren continued, pushing up his glasses.

"And you would probably get lost in it," I finished. "After about five minutes."

Bianca sighed. "Yeah, probably."

The hostess started talking to us again, and I kinda zoned out a bit. I was thinking about what a gym I designed would look like. And what type I would specialize in. Becoming a Gym Leader seemed like a lot of hard work. But it seemed to be worth it. I wondered what it would be like to be a Gym Leader.

"Calanthia, were you paying attention?"

Cheren's voice cut into my thoughts.

I smiled. "Totally! So… what are we doing?"

Bianca laughed as Cheren sighed. "I guess I should expect this from you by now…" he said. "The hostess told us the Gym Leaders are waiting in the back of the gym. In order to get to them we have to get past these curtains. According the panels on the ground have something to do with this Gym's puzzle."

Gyms had puzzles? That was kind of annoying… maybe I didn't want to be a Gym Leader after all. I would have no idea what to do with my Gym's puzzle.

"So what exactly are we supposed to do in this Gym?" I asked.

"Ooh, I know!" Bianca exclaimed. "Maybe we have to step on the panel that has the same image as the curtain!"

I looked up at the first curtain. It had a picture of a leaf on it.

"That seems kinda straight forward, don't you think?" I said. "I feel like it would be more complicated… but I guess we could try."

I started to walk toward the leaf panel, but Cheren stopped me and said, "No. Don't step on the leaf. Step on the flame."

I turned to him. "How do you know what I should step on?"

"I actually did my research," Cheren replied, pushing up his glasses. I glared at Cheren. Of course he did. That was so like him. "To open the curtain, you have to press the switch that is super effective against the type on the curtain."

I hesitated. Type matchups. Right. Those were kind of important. "So fire?" I clarified.

Cheren nodded, and stepped on the fire panel. There was a loud dinging sound, that made me jump. About a second later, the grass curtain parted.

"Yay!" Bianca cheered. "It worked. Cheren, you're really smart!" I nodded in agreement, but I don't think Cheren noticed me. Instead, he smiled at Bianca.

"Thanks," Cheren said. "Let's keep moving."

Bianca and I nodded, and we followed Cheren into the next section of the gym. The curtain there had a water symbol on it.

"So… for this one we press the grass panel, right?" I asked.

Cheren nodded. "That's right. Go ahead."

I stepped forward and pressed the switch on the left, the one with the leaf picture. This ding still made me jump, but it wasn't as bad as the first time. The blue curtain parted, revealing the next section of the gym. The curtain here was red, representing the fire type.

"Then water is good against fire!" I said. "See, this puzzle makes so much sense when you know what you're doing!"

"Most puzzles are like that, Calanthia," Cheren said. "Just step on the last panel."

I stuck my tongue out at Cheren before walking over to the water panel. I stomped on it. This time I was finally prepared for the ding. That made me feel a bit too accomplished.

The last curtain finally parted. This section of the gym looked kind of like a restaurant again, but there were three battlefields in the back instead of a kitchen. A man with short green hair was standing in the middle of the center battlefield. He was dressed up like a waiter. Cheren and I walked over to him. Bianca went to sit at one of the tables to watch.

"Hi," I said. "Cheren and I would like to challenge the gym."

The guy smiled. "Welcome to the Striaton City Gym, Challengers. My name is Cilan. I like grass type Pokemon."

Another guy walked out from behind Cilan. He had red hair in the shape of a flame.

"I'm Chili! I light things up with fire Pokemon!" he said.

Fire Pokemon… so I was going to face this guy, then.

A third guy walked out from behind Cilan. He had blue hair with bangs that covered one of his eyes.

"I'm a water type specialist," he said. "My name is Cress. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"It's nice to meet you," Cheren said. "My name is Cheren Lysov, and this is my friend Calanthia Black."

I waved. "Nice to meet ya!"

Cilan smiled. "It's not everyday we have two challengers come in at the same time. You two must be very close friends."

Before Cheren could reply, I said, "Well, Cheren and I have known each other ever since we were five years old. We became friends pretty soon after we met."

"Since we started our journeys together, we decided we should get our first badges together, too," Cheren said.

Cress smiled at us. "That's very admirable of you. Usually, we can't accept two challengers at once, but as long as you chose different Starter Pokemon we'd be happy to accept both of your challenges."

"Well, I chose Tepig," Cheren said.

"And I chose Snivy," I said. "So will you let us challenge your gym together?"

Chili grinned at me. "We sure are. And Calanthia, since you chose a grass type, the fire type scorcher Chili, otherwise known as yours truly, will be your opponent!"

"And as for Cheren, you will face my esteemed water types and I in battle," Cress said.

Chili walked over to me. "Come with me, Calanthia. Cilan, Cress, and I each use different battlefields. Just in case the hostess forgets we're already battling a challenger. That's what these extra tables are for, too."

Chili lead me over to the battlefield furthest to the left. I glanced over my shoulder to see Cress leading Cheren of to the battlefield on the right. I also saw Cilan sit down at one of the tables.

"Chili…" I said. "How often do you get multiple challengers?"

Chili shrugged. "Not too often. Usually it's just a coincidence, though. I've never seen trainers plan it like you and Cheren."

"Really?" I said. "That's strange…"

"It really doesn't matter that much. Let's just get this battle started!" Chili said. "I'm definitely the strongest of us brothers! There's no way you can beat me!"

I smirked, reaching into my bag to grab a Pokeball. "We'll see about that!"

"The battle between Gym Leader Chili and the Challenger, Calanthia, is about to begin!" a new voice shouted.

I jumped. I didn't know someone else was there. I looked around until I saw someone wearing a striped uniform thing. My dad brought me to Big Stadium a lot before I moved, so I was able to recognize him as a referee. I didn't know Gym Battles had official referees. I wished Cheren told me about that.

"This will be a two on two battle!" the referee said. "Only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions!"

I glanced over at Cheren. He and Cress had already called out their Pokemon. Cheren had his Purrloin out, and Cress had a lillipup.

Wait, lillipup wasn't a water type! That didn't make much sense… unless all three of the brothers had lillipups! Even though the three brothers specialized in different types, it was a good idea to keep at least one Pokemon consistent. I glanced up at Chili. He already had his Pokeball in his hand. I hoped he was going to start with lillipup, and pulled out Shuman's Pokeball.

"Are both sides ready?" the referee said. Chili and I nodded. "Then battle… begin!"

The referee swung his flags down, signifying the start of the battle. Chili was the first to throw his Pokeball into the air.

"Lillipup, let's do this!" he shouted. There was a flash of red light, and a lillipup appeared.

I smiled. I was right! He had a lillipup, too!

"Come on out, Shuman!" I shouted, also throwing my Pokeball. There was another flash of light, and Shuman emerged from his Pokeball.

"Lillipup, use Work Up!" Chili called.

Work Up? What did that do?

Lillipup barked, and suddenly began glowing with a red light. After a few seconds. The light faded.

Let's just say that attack looked weird and pointless. I wondered why a Gym Leader would use it.

"Okay then," I said. "Shuman, use Vine Whip!"

Shuman nodded, and a pair of green vines emerged from his necky thing. Shuman used the vines to grab Lillipup, and lift him up into the air.

Chili laughed. "As if that would work on my Pokemon! Lillipup, use Bite!"

Lillipup glowed red for a second, before biting down on Shuman's vines. Shuman instantly recalled his vines, dropping Lillipup.

"What was with that red light?" I asked.

Chili smirked. "That red light was Lillipup's Work Up attack. Work Up raises a Pokemon's attack power. So, do you still think you can beat us?"

"Of course I can!" I said. "Shuman doesn't only know Vine Whip! Use tackle!"

Shuman cried out, and charged at Lillipup. He slammed into the normal type Pokemon, and sent him flying back a few inches.

"Good job, Shuman!" I said. "Use Tackle one more time!"

Shuman crashed into Lillipup once more, and this time Lillipup was down for good.

"Lillipup, no!" Chili said.

"Lillipup is unable to battle!" the referee called. "The victory goes to Snivy!"

I smiled. "Yes, Shuman, you did it!"

Shuman ran over to me. I knelt down to get closer to his height. "Great job, buddy! You were amazing."

I high-fived Shuman. He then leapt into my arms, and I hugged him, laughing. I glanced over at Cheren, and he gave me a thumbs up sign. He had also managed to take out Lillipup.

"Way to go, Calanthia!" Bianca shouted from her table. "One down, and one to go!"

I grinned at her. "Thanks, Bianca!"

I then turned back to Shuman. "Thanks for all your hard work. You really did a great job today. Return."

After recalling Shuman, I put his Pokeball back in my bag, and swapped it out for Pavati's. I then looked up at Chili again.

"Are you ready, Chili?" I asked.

He laughed. "That's my line, Calanthia! Let's finish this battle! This is my last Pokemon, so I'm going to give it my all! Come on out, Pansear!"

The Pokemon that came out of the ball basically looked like a fire version of Pavati. It wasn't really all that exciting.

I also threw my Pokeball into the air. "Let's go, Pavati!"

Pavati emerged from her Pokeball, eager for a battle.

"Let's finish this up quickly, Pavati! Use Water Gun!" I shouted.

Pavati nodded, and shot a Water Gun attack toward Pansear.

"Don't think this is going to be easy! We're just getting warmed up!" Chili said. "Pansear, use Incinerate!"

Pansear's entire body turned white, and the tuft of fur on his head grew. It was actually kinda freaky.

Pansear started to charge toward the Water Gun. When he made contact, there was a loud hissing sound. The Water Gun evaporated the second it touched Pansear.

"Pansear and I knew we were gonna have to battle a lot of water type Pokemon," Chili said. "So we figured out the perfect defence against water type moves."

"Pretty impressive," I admitted. "But that's not going to stop Pavati and me! Pavati, use Scratch!"

Pavati glanced at me before charging at Pansear. Her claws started to extend as she prepared her Scratch attack.

Chili scoffed. "Do you really think that will work? Pansear, counter it with Fury Swipes!"

Pansear started to charge at Pavati, his claws also extending.

"Pavati, grab Pansears hands to stop the attack!" I shouted. "Now!"

Chili stared at me. "What?"

Pavati also seemed confused, but when Pansear was close enough, she grabbed his wrists and held them above her head.

"Perfect!" I said. "Now, since he can't use Fury Swipes, use Water Gun one last time!"

Pavati cried out before shooting another jet of water at Pansear. She released Pansear, and the Water Gun attack slammed Pansear into the wall. Pansear slid down to the ground. There was no way it could get up after that.

"And Pansear is unable to battle!" the referee said. "That means the winner of this match is the Challenger, Calanthia!"

"Yes!" I cried. "Pavati, you did it!"

Pavati turned to me, and gave me a thumbs up sign.

Chili sighed and recalled his pansear. "You did a good job, Pansear. You deserve a good rest." He put the Pokeball into the pocket of his apron, and walked up to me.

"Well, you got me," he said. "I'm burned out. You're pretty tough, kid."

I giggled. "Thanks. I had a lot of fun."

Chili smiled. "I'm glad. That's what's really important in a battle. Anyway, as proof of your victory, I would like to present you with this Trio Badge!"

Chili reached into his apron pocket, and pulled out a shiny thing.

I took it from him. The badge was really nice. It looked like someone took three different colored diamonds and stacked them up. It was also sparkly, which I always liked.

"Thank you so much!" I said.

"This is your first badge, right?" Chili said. I nodded. "Then I'll also give you this. An official Unova League Badge Case!"

He pulled something else out from his pocket and handed it to me. The top half of it was pink, and the bottom was black. There was a Pokeball design in the middle. I opened it up. The inside was lined with some sort of fabric. There were eight indents in the fabric for the eight badges of the Unova League. I put the Trio Badge into the first slot, then put the badge case away in my bag.

"Thank you again, Chili," I said.

Chili started to say something or other, but was interrupted when Bianca ran up to us. She wrapped her arms around me, nearly knocking me over.

"Calanthia! You finally got your first Gym Badge!" she cried. "Congratulations!"

"Yes! It's exciting! I know! Now please let go of me! Can't breathe!" I said, my voice strained.

"Oh! Sorry!" Bianca immediately released me. "Hey, let's go watch Cheren finish up his battle!"

"Good idea!" I said. Bianca and I ran over to where Cheren was battling Cress. We watched as his pansage used Vine Whip to slam Cress's panpour into the ground.

Bianca and I cheered. Cheren turned to us, slightly surprised.

"When did you guys get here?" he asked.

"Just now," I replied. "Hey, I got the Trio Badge!"

Cheren smiled. "That's awesome, Calanthia. Good job."

"She definitely earned it," Chili said, walking over to us. "Calanthia's a pretty strong Trainer."

"And you've earned it as well, Cheren," Cress said, also joining us. "You're really quite remarkable. Take this Trio Badge."

Cheren couldn't hide his excitement as he took his first Gym Badge. I couldn't help but smile. Cheren barely ever got excited over anything, so it was nice when he did.

"Cheren!" Bianca said. "That was really great! Congratulations! Ooh, I'm just so proud of both of you!"

Bianca wrapped one arm around each of our shoulders, and pulled us in for a group hug. "You guys are gonna be the best Trainers in Unova! I can just feel it!" she said. Cheren and I simply grinned at each other.

"Those were some impressive battles," Cilan said, walking up to us. Bianca finally let go of us, so we could turn to face him. "Gym Badges are proof of a Trainer's abilities. If you have a lot of Gym Badges, people will be able to tell how far you've come with your Pokemon. How you've helped them get closer to their full potential."

Pokemon reaching their full potential… could a Gym Badge really prove how hard a Pokemon has worked? That didn't really make much sense to me, but I trusted the Gym Leaders.

"Now, in the Unova Region, we are still novice Gym Leaders," Cilan said. "Which means the other Gym Leaders are much stronger than we are. So you guys can't give up. I'm sure you two will be able to overcome any obstacle you face."

"Good luck on your journeys, guys!" Chili said.

"Thank you for everything," I said. "I'm sure I won't forget this for a long time."

Cheren, Bianca, and I waved as we ran out of the restaurant gym.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this very late update to Pokemon Black: Seeking the Truth! I'll try to update on a better schedule now. Please review, so I can improve my writing skills. I'm open to suggestions even though I have chapters written already. **


	5. Adventures in the Dreamyard!

**Wooo once again i fail at uploading on time! Yayy. **

**Anyway, sorry this took so long. Guess I kinda forgot to go on my computer... **

**Anyway, I don't really have much to say on this chapter, so Read, Review, and Enjoy!**

* * *

Cheren, Bianca, and I sat around one of the tables at the Striaton City Gym. We decided that we should eat before continuing with our journeys. The trainers who won at the gym got free meals, so we were good.

"So, what do you guys wanna do next?" I asked, taking a sip of my victory milkshake.

"Ooh!" Bianca said. "I wanna check out the Dreamyard!"

"The Dreamyard?" I repeated. "What's that?"

"It's a plant site used as a playground for people and Pokemon," Cheren explained. "It's also the only place you can find the Pokemon Munna and Musharna. It just east of the city."

Wow. I didn't even know that place existed.

"That sounds pretty cool," I said. "This could be fun! Let's get going, then!"

The three of us ran out of the restaurant. I smiled the second we got outside. It was actually a really nice day. There were barely any clouds, and it wasn't too cold, either.

"Cheren, can you lead the way to the Dreamyard?" I asked.

Cheren nodded, and lead Bianca and I through Striaton City. I was really glad Cheren was with us. Without him, Bianca and I would get hopelessly lost.

The Dreamyard was actually pretty impressive. There were crumbling buildings everywhere, and there were plenty of places to look for Pokemon. I'm glad we decided to go to the Dreamyard.

"This place is great!" Bianca said. "There are so many cool ruins here!"

Cheren sighed. "I'm glad you enjoy it, Bianca. But we should probably leave for Nacrene City soon. I want to challenge the Gym Leader there."

"Oh, Cheren," I said. "Gym Battles aren't the only important things on a journey! You have to enjoy yourself, too!"

"Calanthia's right!" Bianca said. "I wanna explore a bit more before we move on!"

Cheren sighed again. "All right. Let's just get this over with."

Cheren, Bianca, and I walked into the ruins. There was a giant house thingy that had a few holes in the ceiling.

"Hey, guys…" Bianca said. "Do you hear voices?"

I closed my eyes. The only thing I heard were some Pokemon calls. I didn't recognize the Pokemon, but there certainly weren't any human voices.

"I don't hear anything," I said.

"Me neither," Cheren said.

"That's strange…" Bianca said. "I think I hear voices coming from inside that house…"

I grinned. "Well, let's check it out, then!"

I ran into the house. Cheren and Bianca followed me. There was a small, pink Pokemon in the middle of the room. It had purple flowers scattered across it's body.

Bianca gasped. "Ohmigosh! That's a Munna! It's so cute!"

That pink thing was a Munna? If Munna's were so rare, I thought they would be more camouflaged than that. But it really didn't matter.

"Cheren, I want it!" Bianca said.

"Why are you asking me?" Cheren said. "If you want it that badly, you can capture it yourself."

Bianca pouted. "But Cheren! I don't know how to catch Pokemon. You only taught Calanthia!"

"She's got a point, you know," I said. Cheren turned to me. "Bianca wasn't with us when I caught Leila."

Before Cheren could say anything, a new voice shouted, "We finally found you, Munna!"

Two people ran into the room. They were wearing weird tunicy things, that looked strangely familiar…

I gasped. "Cheren, aren't they-"

Cheren's eyes widened. "These are the guys from Accumula Town! What are they doing here?"

Bianca glanced at us. "Huh? You guys know these people?"

"They were giving a speech in Accumula Town," I explained. "You were probably still in the Pokemon Center or something while it happened. They called themselves Team Plasma, or something stupid like that."

"Hey!" one of the tunic guys said. "Team Plasma is not a stupid name!"

"It kinda is," I said. "But whatever. What are you guys doing here, anyway?"

"Team Plasma battles day and night to liberate Pokemon from foolish people!" one of the Team Plasma grunts shouted.

"And this mission is a part of that initiative!" the other grunt said. "The Pokemon munna and musharna emit a mysterious vapor called Dream Mist, which shows people's dreams. We're going to use that to make people want to release their Pokemon. We'll show them dreams to manipulate their hearts."

I leaned over to Cheren. "Why are they just telling us their plans?" I whispered.

Cheren shrugged. "Don't know, but I'm not going to complain."

Suddenly, one of the Team Plasma grunts kicked the Munna. Bianca, Cheren, and I gasped. He shouted, "Come on! Spit out that Dream Mist!"

"You're kicking a Pokemon to make it give off Dream Mist?" Bianca said, in disbelief. "That's mean! You're Trainers, too, right?"

The two grunts turned to us. "That's right," one of them said. "We're Trainers too, but we're fighting for a different reason. Unlike you two, we're fighting for the freedom of Pokemon!"

Wait, they were fighting to free Pokemon from abusive Trainers, yet they're hurting the munna…? This made absolutely no sense. Something was off here…

"And setting Pokemon free means that we win Pokemon battles and take Pokemon by force! So, on that note, we are going to rescue your Pokemon from you!"

The grunt pulled out a Pokeball, and prepared for battle. I also reached for my Pokemon, but Cheren stepped in front of me.

"I'll handle this guy. You girls go help that munna!" he said. "Tepig, let's go!"

As Cheren battled the Plasma Grunt, I grabbed Bianca and dragged her over to the other grunt.

"We're not going to let you hurt that munna!" I shouted. I held out Shuman's Pokeball, in case the grunt still wanted to fight.

"Yeah!" Bianca agreed, also pulling out a Pokeball. "Now let it go!"

The grunt glared at us. "I'm not giving it up without a fight! Purrloin, come on out!" There was a flash of red light, and a purrloin appeared in front of me.

I rolled my eyes. "We're really going to do this? Fine. Shuman, let's go."

Shuman emerged from his Pokeball.

"Let's just get this over with," I said. "Attack that purrloin!"

Shuman nodded, and leapt up into the air. I watched, confused, as he turned upside down and started spinning in a circle. A bunch of leaves began forming around him, into a tornado shape. He flung the tornado at the purrloin, and it went flying.

"Calanthia?" Bianca said. "What was that?"

"I have no clue," I admitted, pulling out my beeping Pokedex. When I opened it, the screen was flashing, "Your Shuman has learned Leaf Tornado!"

"Leaf Tornado, huh?" I said. "Not bad, Shuman!"

Shuman grinned at me. I returned the grin, then glared at the Team Plasma grunt. His Purrloin was lying on the ground a few feet behind him, defeated.

"Now, let that munna go!" I said.

"No way!" the grunt said. "We have to obtain the Dream Mist!"

Both of the grunts started to walk toward the Munna again. Bianca stood next to it, holding out her Pokeball.

"Hey!" Cheren said. "We beat you fair and square! Now knock it off!"

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light. It actually hurt my eyes a bit. When the light cleared, I gasped.

The guy who gave the speech, Ghetsis, I think, was standing in the Dreamyard with us.

What? How did he get there? Where did that flash of light come from? What was going on? This made no sense.

Even the grunts were shocked by Ghetsis randomly appearing. They also gasped.

"What are you two doing goofing off?" Ghetsis demanded.

Now, if this situation wasn't strange enough, another Ghetsis appeared on the opposite end of the Dreamyard. Now there were two of him. This was just freaky.

"We, Team Plasma, shall separate Pokemon from foolish people!" the new Ghetsis said.

Suddenly, the two Ghetsises disappeared, and one of them reappeared behind the two grunts. This… couldn't really be Ghetsis, could it? People couldn't do this! What was going on?

"If you cannot fulfill your duties…" Ghetsis said.

The two grunts exchanged glances. "T-this isn't… Ghetsis when he's gathering followers…" one of them said.

"Or Ghetsis when he is trying to control people by tricking them with speeches!" the other one said.

That speech in Accumula Town was trying to trick people? What did the grunt mean by that? From what I had seen, Team Plasma actually kind of believed in freeing Pokemon. None of this was adding up. At all.

"This is Ghetsis when a plan has failed, and he is about to issue punishment…" the first grunt said. "Let's get out of here!"

The first grunt ran off. The other grunt recalled his Purrloin before following the first one. Those grunts were scared of Ghetsis… I mean, he freaked me out a bit, but this… this was just something else.

There was another blinding flash of light, and Ghetsis vanished. Another pink Pokemon appeared from behind the wall. It kinda looked like a bigger version of munna, but it had a pink thing on it's head. I assumed this was a musharna.

The musharna floated over to the munna.

I turned to Bianca and Cheren. "What on earth was that all about? That couldn't have been real, right? Did Ghetsis really just, like, appear and disappear all over the place?"

"Of course!" Cheren exclaimed. I jumped. "That must've been a dream created by Musharna! There's no way Ghetsis would be able to do that!"

"Wow!" Bianca said. "Musharna and munna are so cool! But… who's Ghetsis?"

"Ghetsis is a member of Team Plasma," I explained. "He was the one giving the speech back in Accumula Town. But I didn't think he was that important…"

"Well, that was still pretty weird," Bianca said. "I didn't know munna and musharna could do that! I want one even more now!"

"I'm afraid you've missed your chance," Cheren said, pointing at the two Pokemon. "Look."

Musharna was leading the munna away from us. Bianca pouted. "Aw, man! I really wanted to catch one of them!"

"Well, if you want, I can help you find them again," Cheren offered. "Besides, I still need to teach you how to capture Pokemon."

Bianca smiled. "That would be great! Thank you so much, Cheren!" She turned to me. "Calanthia, do you wanna help, too?"

I hesitated for a second. I really liked being with my friends, but I already knew how to catch Pokemon. I didn't really want to go through that lecture again.

"Sorry, but I think I'll pass on this one," I said. "I wanna head over to Nacrene City."

"Are you planning on challenging the Gym Leader there?" Cheren asked.

I didn't even know there was a Gym Leader in Nacrene City! I would have to keep track of that more...

"Probably not today," I replied. "But I wanna get to the city ahead of time. So I can figure out where everything is and stuff."

"Maybe you can check out the Nacrene City Museum," Cheren suggested. "I've never been there, but I heard they had some pretty interesting exhibits."

I smiled. "Good idea, Cheren! I'll be sure to check it out! See ya guys later!"

"Bye, Calanthia!" Bianca said. "See you in Nacrene City!"

Bianca waved cheerfully as I ran out of the Dreamyard.

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**Okay so now I actually have no clue when I'll update next. Because now I'm into the chapters where I've been procrastinating on writing Pokemon battles. Hopefully this will give me motivation to do them... sorry about that.**

**Hope you enjoyed! **


	6. The Nacrene City Museum!

**Wow this chapter took too long to finish. But hey, here it is! Sorry about that. I'll try to update regularly now. **

**Read, review, and enjoy!**

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I pulled out my town map the second I got into Striaton City. It was really annoying to unfold, because it had to be small enough to fit into my bag, and large enough to show the entire Unova region. So it was folded in half as many times as possible.

"Okay…" I said, scanning the map. "If I go through Route Three, I should reach Nacrene City in no time at all…"

I smiled. This was going to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. I ran onto Route Three, which was to the west of Striaton City. I wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings because I was trying to refold the map. Which was a lot harder than unfolding it.

I didn't even notice when I wandered into the Tall Grass. Suddenly, something flew out from the grass. I fell backward, shocked. I accidently dropped the map, and it fell to the ground next to me.

"Gah!" I exclaimed. "What was that?"

A Pokemon swooped down on me. I ducked, so it didn't hit my head. But it flew so close that it knocked my hat off. I looked up to see a tiny, gray Pokemon flying above me.

"Aw!" I said. "A Pidove! It's so cute! Ooh, I've just gotta catch it!"

The pidove landed on the ground a few feet away from me. I shoved my hat back on, then slowly got to my feet, trying not to scare away the Pokemon.

"All right!" I whispered. "Leila, come on out, and use Scratch on that Pidove!"

I threw my Pokeball to the ground, and Leila emerged from it. She charged at the pidove, and hit it with a Scratch attack. The pidove was knocked back a few feet.

"Perfect!" I said. "Pokeball, go!"

I threw an empty Pokeball at the pidove. A red light engulfed it, and the Pokeball beeped three times before clicking.

I grinned. "Yes! It worked! Good job, Leila! Return!" After recalling Leila, I ran to pick up Pidove's Pokeball. I immediately called out Pidove. It looked up at me. "Hi there! I'm Calanthia. I hope we can be friends! Now, let's see what moves you know…"

I pulled out my Pokedex, and pointed it at Pidove. The Pokedex told me Pidove knew Gust, Growl, Leer, and Quick Attack. Again, only two of them were going to be useful, but Pidove would eventually learn new moves. The Pokedex also said Pidove was a boy.

"A boy, huh?" I said, staring at the Pokeball. "Let's see… a male flying type… I think I'll call you Aeolus. Welcome to the team."

Aeolus chirped happily, and started to fly around my head. I giggled. "It's nice to meet you, too. Now let's get going! Return!"

Aeolus chirped again before returning to his new Pokeball. I shoved it into my bag, and started running across Route Three again. At that point, I didn't even notice I left my Town Map lying in the Tall Grass.

The rest of the journey to Nacrene City wasn't very eventful. Route Three was pretty straightforward, so it was easy to find the Town Gate.

But when I reached Nacrene City, I realized there were going to be a few problems. One, Nacrene City was huge. Two, I had no idea what the museum looked like. And three, it was starting to get dark out. While there were some street lights, it would've been much easier to see in the daytime.

I wandered around the city for a while, until I stumbled across a giant, white building. There was a sign next to it. It read, 'Nacrene City Museum and Gym.'

I smiled. I finally found the museum. Also, I knew where the gym was, now! Even though I wasn't going to challenge it that night, I was still glad I knew where it was.

I walked over to the doorway of the museum. There was a sign on it that said 'Push', but when I reached for the door, it swung open. So I ended up falling into whoever opened the door.

"Sorry!" I said, immediately stepping back a few feet. "The door kinda disappeared, and I…" I laughed feebly.

"Don't worry about it," a male voice said. The boy was talking really fast for some reason. "I was the one who opened the door, after all."

Wait… that voice… why did it sound so familiar?

I looked up at the boy I crashed into. A tall boy with long, green hair was smiling at me.

It was the boy from Accumula Town!

"Hey, your name's N, right?" I said, smiling.

N's smile widened. "That's me. It's nice to see you again, Calanthia."

"It's nice to see you, too," I said, politely. I twirled my hair. "So, what brings you to Nacrene City?"

"I want to see things no one else can see," N said. "The ideals of Pokemon inside of Pokeballs. The truths of how Trainers should be. A future where Pokemon have become perfect… a future where they are free from human control. Humans have done so many bad things to Pokemon. And I believe they should be free from human control. Do you feel the same way?"

I hesitated for a second, before saying, "Well, I don't know how that answered my question, but I'll admit your points are valid. Although, not all humans treat their Pokemon badly. In fact, some people don't even use their Pokemon to battle. You see, my dad has been doing research in the Hoenn Region, and he told me stories of Pokemon Contests, where Pokemon show off their skills instead of battling."

"Even if they aren't battling, humans are still forcing Pokemon to do things for them." N paused for a second. "You saw the speech in Accumula Town, right?"

I nodded slowly, wondering where N was going with this.

"Maybe Team Plasma is right," N said. "Maybe liberating Pokemon is the only way to ensure their happiness."

"That speech was certainly thought provoking, but I don't think we should take it too seriously," I replied. "And a stupid speech by some creepy dude in a weird cape thing shouldn't lead to thousands of people releasing their Pokemon."

N's smile faltered slightly. "So you cannot see this future, either… I expected more from you."

What did he mean by that? This was the second time he had ever seen me, how could he have expectations?

"Calanthia, I would like to have a battle with you," N said suddenly. "Maybe then you will be able to see this future I envision."

I blinked. Was he actually being serious? We were kind of in the middle of the town. "Is this really the best place for a battle?"

His smile faltered again. "So you don't want to battle me…"

I cringed. I did not like seeing N upset. I sighed. "No, I'll battle you. There's probably enough space here for us to not break anything."

N's smile returned. "Excellent. Let's begin, then. Does a three on three battle sound good to you?"

I nodded.

His smile widened. "Pidove, let's go."

N threw a Pokeball into the air. So he had a pidove, too. Might as well show him mine, too!

"Okay! Aeolus, go!" I said, also throwing a Pokeball. Now we were just kinda standing across from each other with birds. Totally worth it.

"Pidove, use Gust!" N said.

"Aeolus, you heard him. You use Gust, too!" I said.

Both Pidoves started flapping their wings, making small tornados. They flung the tornados at each other, and when they collided, there was a giant gust of wind. I held down my hat to make sure it didn't fall off again.

"Aeolus, use Quick Attack!" I shouted over the wind.

Aeolus charged toward Pidove, and slammed into it. Pidove flew back a few feet, but was able to recover pretty quickly.

"Impressive," N said. "Pidove, use your Quick Attack, too."

"Dodge it and use Quick Attack one more time!" I said.

Aeolus flew up, avoiding Pidove's Quick Attack at the last second. He then dive downed with his own attack, slamming Pidove into the ground.

"Yes!" I said. "Great job, Aeolus! You were amazing!"

Aeolus turned to me, and cried out cheerfully.

N's eyes widened slightly. I looked up at him, still smiling brightly. "What?" I asked.

N shook his head. "It's nothing. Pidove, you fought well. Return."

He recalled his fallen Pokemon, and pulled out another Pokeball. "Timburr, it's your turn."

A gray Pokemon emerged from his Pokeball. It was carrying a large piece of wood for some reason. Since I really didn't want to use my Pokedex in front of N, I just kinda dubbed it as a Fighting Pokemon because of it's human-esque figure. Well, if that thing was a Fighting Pokemon, Aeolus would be great against it!

"Aeolus, use Gust again!" I cried.

Aeolus flew up into the air again, and shot a tornado at Timburr.

"Timburr, use Bide," N said calmly.

The Timburr started glowing with some sort white light thing right before the tornado hit him. At least, it looked like a him to me.

Anyway, even though the Gust looked like it did a lot of damage, the Timburr didn't go flying or anything. Instead the light around it got brighter.

"Now!" N said.

Timburr fired a white beam at Aeolus. It made a direct hit. Aeolus fell to the ground.

I stared at N. "What was that?" I asked.

"Bide," N said simply.

I sighed. Well that was helpful. But, once again, I really didn't want to pull out my Pokedex in front of N, so I let it slide.

"Aeolus, you did a great job," I said. "Return."

I put Aeolus's Pokeball back in my bag. I really didn't know who to bring out next. Even though Aeolus's Gust didn't faint the Timburr, it certainly did a lot of damage. So I would probably be able to take it out with any of my Pokemon.

"Um… Pavati, let's go!" I said, throwing her Pokeball into the air. That was just random enough to work!

"Use Water Gun!" I said.

Pavati shot a stream of water at Timburr. After all of the damage it had taken from Aeolus's attack, the Water Gun was just enough to knock it out.

"You fought well, Timburr," N said, a bit sadly. "Return."

As N reached into his pocket for another Pokeball, I noticed a few people had gathered on the side of the street to watch our battle. I guess that's what we get for having a battle in the middle of the street…

"Tympole, come on out," N said, throwing his last Pokeball. There was a flash of red light and a small, blue and tan Pokemon flopped onto the ground. It was basically just a head with a fin. It was actually kinda adorable.

"Well, that thing has to be a Water Type!" I said, taking out Pavati's and Shuman's Pokeballs. "Pavati, return! Shuman, it's your turn!"

Shuman appeared in another flash of red light, ready for battle.

"Use Leaf Tornado!" I shouted.

Shuman nodded, and shot his tornado toward Tympole. Since it was a water pokemon, and obviously was not made for battling on land, it had no hope of dodging. The tornado sent it flying into the air, and it slammed into the wall of the museum. I was really glad it didn't do any damage to the wall, because that would've been annoying to deal with.

I noticed a few people watching the battle were cheering, so I smiled at them over my shoulder.

N smiled as well as he recalled his fallen Pokemon. "You've met my expectations after all, Calanthia."

I turned back to him as the crowd dispersed.

"But it seems the world is still to be determined…" he said.

I walked back over to him. "What do you mean?"

"Right now, my friends aren't strong enough to save all Pokemon," N said. "Maybe I can't solve the equation that will change the world. So, I need power… power enough to make anyone agree with me. Even someone like your friend from Accumula Town."

I laughed. "Good luck with that. Cheren's really stubborn. You would need something really impressive to convince him."

"You're right…" N said, his smile returning suddenly. "Something impressive… now I know what power I need! Zekrom!"

"What's Zekrom?" I asked. Was that a Pokemon? I had never heard of it before…

"Zekrom is the legendary Pokemon that, along with the hero, created the Unova Region," N explained.

"Wow…" I breathed. "I can't believe a Pokemon created the Unova Region…"

A Pokemon that created the entire region… that certainly was impressive. A Pokemon like that might even be able to impress Cheren.

"So… how are you going to find Zekrom?" I asked.

"I will become the new hero!" N declared. "Using Zekrom, I can change the world for the better! And then you and I will be friends!"

N ran off before I could say another word. Was he actually being serious? I mean, it was cool that he was following his dream and stuff, but this was a bit weird. I really didn't get N. But I wanted to. There was something about him that was so… intriguing. Maybe someday I would understand. But I supposed this wasn't really the time to think about it. Instead, I walked into the Nacrene City Museum.

Before I could get a good look at the museum, a man walked over to me, smiling. It was actually a little bit creepy.

"Welcome to the Nacrene City Museum!" he said. "My name is Hawes. I'm the assistant director." Oh okay that was slightly less creepy.

"It's nice to meet you, sir," I said. "I'm Calanthia, and I'm a Pokemon Trainer."

"A Pokemon Trainer, huh?" Hawes said. "Then you must be here to challenge Lenora's Gym."

"Kinda," I replied. "I'm probably going to challenge it tomorrow. I just wanna look around the museum for today."

"Well, I know a lot about the exhibits here," Hawes said. "If you have any questions, just ask me."

I smiled. "I will. Thank you."

I started to wander around the museum. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, and there were a lot of different exhibits. There was a meteorite, a Pokemon fossil, and even a giant Pokemon skeleton in the middle of the room! I didn't know what the Pokemon was, and the plaque on it didn't say, but it was still really cool!

But there was one exhibit that really stood out to me. In the far corner of the museum, there was a small, glass case with a shiny, white stone inside. It was really pretty. But for some reason, there wasn't a plaque on it or anything.

Without even looking away from the stone, I said, "Hey, Hawes."

"Yes, Calanthia?" Hawes said, walking over to me. "How can I help you?"

"What's this stone?" I asked. "It's really pretty."

"Oh, that?" Hawes said. "It's just an ordinary old stone. The Gym Leader of Driftveil City, Clay, found it near the desert. It's only on display because it's pretty."

Before I could reply, my Xtransceiver started ringing. Very loudly. The other people in the museum glared at me.

I laughed feebly, then glanced at my wrist. Cheren was calling. I looked up at Hawes.

"Um, I should probably take this. But I'll see you tomorrow!" I said, running out of the museum. Ugh, why did Cheren have to call me right then? That was really awkward.

I answered my Xtransceiver the second I got outside. "Thanks a lot, Cheren."

"What did I do?" Cheren demanded.

"You were the one who told me to go to the museum, why would you call me?" I asked. "It doesn't make any sense."

Cheren rolled his eyes. "Well, It's not my fault you forgot put your Xtransceiver on silent!"

"You can do that?" I said. "Cheren, why didn't you tell me?"

"You've had that thing forever, I thought you would know! Are you really that hopeless, Calanthia?"

"Guys, stop fighting!" Bianca's voice shouted. She pushed Cheren over a few inches so she could get in the picture. "Calanthia, it was my idea to call you. Cheren and I were wondering if it would be okay to stay in Striaton City another night. After all, it is pretty late."

"Oh," I said, glancing at the clock on my Xtranciever. Wow, it was already 9 PM. I had no idea it was so late! "I guess that would be fine. Did you manage to find a munna?"

Bianca smiled. "Yes! She's sooooooooo cute!"

"And she only took a couple of hours to find," Cheren added, annoyed.

I laughed. "Well, at least you found one. So I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

Cheren nodded. "We'll meet up with you in Nacrene City. Hey, maybe we can even watch your Gym Battle!"

I grinned. "That would be awesome! See ya guys tomorrow!"

"Bye, Calanthia!" Bianca said. "Tomorrow is gonna be awesome!"

I pushed a button on my Xtranciever, hanging up. I kind of wanted to check out the museum a bit more, but instead I headed toward the Pokemon Center for the night.


End file.
